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Monthly Archives: February 2018

Last month saw the first ESRC IAA and Creative Fuse CAKE collaboration over at the Mining Institute in Newcastle. Here Frances Hardcastle from Creative Fuse summarises the main points from the afternoon presentations.

How does the digital affect archive materials? Often when we consider digital archives, we equate this with the process of digitisation – creating a digital copy of an item that can be viewed on a screen and stored on a server. But what if there was more to the digital archive than digitisation? In our 15th Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) event, we explored the changing dynamics between digital and original artefacts, and how the message can complement and be transformed by the medium.

In keeping with our theme, this month’s event blended the grandeur and heritage of the venue with a 21st Century audience; filling the library of the Mining Institute with representatives from the region’s Creative, Digital and IT sector.

Our first speakers were from Animating Text at Newcastle University (ATNU). Professor Jennifer Richards and her colleagues, Professor Michael Rossington, Dr James Cummings and Dr Tiago Sousa Garcia gave a lightening fast introduction to the world of digital scholarly editing and the pioneering work taking place at Newcastle University.

The team explained that animating text is nothing to do with film animation, but instead explores how technology can enhance archive materials; creating a digital edition that is more than a simple digitisation of a text.

The team at ATNU is made up of researchers from disciplines as diverse as English Literature, Language and Linguistics, Arts and Cultures, Modern Languages, History, Classics and Archaeology, and Computer Science. Through this blend of perspectives, ATNU will explore how digital technology can produce different ways of understanding, explaining and experiencing a text; whilst also re-imagining the reading experience itself.

Our second speaker was Dr Jenna Ashton, Creative Director at Digital Women’s Archive North (DWAN). DWAN is a feminist arts and heritage organisation, based in the North West. They support women and girls to identify, collect, disseminate and celebrate their cultural heritage through creative and digital activities.

A digital archive is sometimes automatically considered as a tool through which expanded access and participation can be achieved. However, Jenna encouraged us to view this assumption with a degree of caution. Much like physical spaces, digital spaces are not necessarily inclusive or welcoming to all people.

How can digital spaces be truly participatory, and not a reflection of offline spheres that can exclude others? Jenna asks some brilliant questions at #FuseCAKE

Of course, these issues must be considered as part of any digital archiving project. Jenna asked us all to consider what kinds of spaces we wanted or needed online. As part of DWAN’s work, they take in “orphan collections” of archive materials that can not be housed elsewhere, illustrating Jenna’s point well. Through this, DWAN re-imagines digital spaces as a home for a diverse range of marginalised voices, which may have been excluded from other physical spaces.

As with Jenna’s presentation, Sue also embedded her work within the wider social and ethical contexts associated with digital archiving.

Using the example of her work collecting oral histories, Sue discussed how digital methods have been able to connect us more closely with those telling their stories – capturing and sharing the voices themselves as opposed to a written transcript of the conversation. However, along with new methods of recording and disseminating historical sources, comes new questions surrounding the usage of the material and new mechanisms needed to make sense of the volume of information:

Oral testimony is living testimony, when a recording is made, can we be prepared for it’s future life in an archive? How will its contents affect those who are left behind when the speaker is no longer around? Interesting ethical questions here #FuseCAKE

We record people’s history in real time with the likes of Twitter: bringing a massive surge of voices to the public sphere. This is where digital archives and oral history can come into their own – tools to make sense of all the voices are more vital than ever before #FuseCAKE

CAKE’s final speaker was artist and writer Stevie Ronnie. Stevie is an interdisciplinary artist with a background in computer science – another great example of the fruitful fusion of creative skills and technology expertise.

Stevie Ronnie, writer and artist, on how to combine tech and art #FuseCAKE

Stevie discussed his creative approach, combining the traditional and the digital. One installation, Brass Book,challenged fears that technology will replace printed books. The exhibition featured traditionally bound books, embedded with technology. Visitors were invited to interact with both elements, and was very well received.

Linking back to @AnimatingTextNU , Stevie’s ideas consider the concept of digital books offering something more than being simply a digitised version of the paper copy. Beautifully illustrated by a book physically bound together by cables #FuseCAKE

Q: With oral narratives, how can one separate the history from the fiction?
A: In long term historical interests, some speakers can ask for sealed recordings – with no-holds barred narratives #FuseCAKE

Q: The Lindisfarne Gospels were created over long period of time – how does the speed of digital methods affect the way we archive our heritage?
A: It can be good to slow down a little – think about what people value, what people might want to interact with #FuseCAKE

Q: Interview design in oral histories – how much does a researcher allow a freeflow of a narrative vs getting to the hard questions?
A: Methodologies vary, in general the fewer questions, the better – getting on a roll can be rewarding #FuseCAKE

Q: Are there areas of your work that would benefit from cross-sector collaboration?
A: Sue – show me your wishlists!
A: Jennifer: would love to hear ideas
A: Stevie: looking for a digital space to host a poem for 100 years
A: Jenna: gives homes to “orphan collections” #FuseCAKE

With so many different perspectives and interests represented in the room, the networking session was bound to be interesting. At this point, the question on everyone’s mind was starting to turn to refreshment and fuel for the next stage: